Patty Mahoney, of Capital Hot Tubs says that the best description of good emotional well-being is a sense of contentment, zeal for life and an ability to deal with stress.

Here are three simple steps to better emotional health.

Soak Away the Blues – Slip into a hot tub for at least fifteen minutes each day. The warm water encourages enriched blood flow to the muscles and brain. The massage jets work out the stress and anxiety from muscles. The effect of both is a flood of endorphins in the brain that make it feel good. It also helps prepare the body for a good night’s sleep to further relax you and increase your optimism.

Along with the immediate physical and mental benefits of soaking in the temperature controlled water of a portable spa, hot tubs offer long-lasting relief from anxiety and stress all day long. Just knowing the swirling hot water is waiting to relieve the tensions of the day can help people deal with daily struggles throughout the day.

Commune with Nature – Get outside a little and enjoy fresh air and sunshine. Natural light is packed with Vitamin D, a vital component of mental and emotional health. Fresh air floods the brain with a sense of well-being that lasts for hours after going back inside. Vitamin D from the sun also helps increase productivity.

Fresh air and sunshine help improve concentration and alertness all day. People spend a lot of time packed in-between walls at work and school. Finding the time to take a short walk or just sit on a bench outside for a few minutes each day can do wonders to improve emotional health.

Get Enough Sleep – Today’s lifestyle isn’t geared toward proper sleep habits. There aren’t enough hours in the day to do the things people feel they need to do, and most are determined to find a way to squeeze another two or three hours into an already packed twenty-four. However, getting at least seven hours of sleep is vital to good emotional, mental and physical health.

If there isn’t enough time in the day to get things done, learn how to trim unnecessary things from your schedule, until there is. Stress can bring on bouts of insomnia, which in turn, makes stress worse by preventing people from getting enough sleep. A lack of sleep effects judgment, memory and mood causing elevated tensions during the day that can further aggravate the problem.

To encourage local residents to check out the benefits of using a hot tub to help improve their overall health and well-being, Capital Hot Tubs is providing free hot tub test soaks at all their showrooms. They do recommend, however, that people wanting to schedule their free 30-minute soak call them ahead of time to reserve their spot.

Consumers wanting to learn more are encouraged to pick up a copy of this free guide, 7 Steps to Hot Tub Buying Success, just call 301-607-4670 or visit https://CapitalHotTubs.com.

The 30+ year-old company has a Certified Service team and a knowledgeable, low-pressure sales staff to give customers the best hot tub experience! They are a full-service hot tub, swim spa and sauna dealer with 3 convenient locations serving the Washington, D.C. metro area including Vienna, Fairfax, Herndon, Arlington, McLean, Potomac, Rockville, Bethesda, Clarksburg, Frederick, Gaithersburg, Silver Spring, and many more fine areas of N. Virginia and Maryland.

To learn more about the health benefits and energy saving features of owning a hot tub or swim spa, pick up a copy of this free guide, 7 Steps to Hot Tub Buying Success. Just call 301-607-4670 or go to: https://capitalhottubs.com.

BEIJING — China's government pledged Monday to deliver robust growth, pursue advanced technology and boost military spending while urging the public to embrace President Xi Jinping's rule as its ceremonial legislature prepared for changes to allow Xi to stay in power indefinitely. The plan to end constitutional limits on Xi's term as president has overshadowed the meeting of the National People's Congress, which usually is used to showcase economic initiatives and plans for social programs and other government work. In a nearly two-hour speech to the legislature, Premier Li Keqiang did not mention the scrapping of term limits but emphasized...

BEIJING — China's defense budget will rise 8.1 percent to 1.1 trillion yuan ($173 billion) this year as the country prepares to launch its second aircraft carrier, integrate stealth fighters into its air force and field an array of advanced missiles able to attack air and sea targets at vast distances. The figure released in a report Monday to the ceremonial National People's Congress is an increase in the growth rate from last year, when finance ministry officials said the budget was rising 7 percent to 1 trillion yuan ($151 billion). Years of double-digit percentage growth have given China the...

BEIJING — China's top economic official set a robust growth target Monday and promised more market opening and cuts in a bloated steel industry that has inflamed trade tensions with Washington and Europe. The growth target of "around 6.5 percent" announced by Premier Li Keqiang to China's ceremonial legislature, little-changed from last year, would be among the world's strongest if achieved. The premier also promised progress on developing electric cars and other technology and better regulation of China's scandal-plagued financial industries. The meeting of the National People's Congress is overshadowed by constitutional changes that would allow President Xi Jinping to...

BEIJING — China will begin recruiting civilian astronauts for its military-backed space program and plans to increase the number of crewed missions to around two a year, a top official with the country's space program said. China's third batch of astronaut trainees will include recruits from industry, research institutions and universities who will help build and crew China's independent space station, Yang Liwei, deputy director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, told reporters on the sidelines of the annual session of China's ceremonial parliament. New astronauts will include maintenance engineers and payload specialists as well as pilots, Yang, who...

BEIJING — China has warned that U.S. President Donald Trump's vow to impose high tariffs on steel and aluminum would have a "huge impact" on the global trading order and said Beijing would work with other nations to protect its interests. A Commerce Ministry official said late Friday that Trump's plan to levy tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum would "seriously damage multilateral trade mechanisms represented by the World Trade Organization and will surely have huge impact on normal international trade order." "If the final measures of the United States hurt Chinese interests, China will...